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Ask the Veterinarian/My cat hisses at my 2 year old granddaughter

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Expert: - 12/16/2010


Question
My cat is 4 years old and a pleasure to have. We rescued him from the local shelter when he was born. Smokey is a great cat other than his attitude with my granddaughter. He has been hissing at her since she was able to crawl. I understand that when she was younger she was a little rough trying to pet and play with him, but now that she is 2 she is a lot more gentle when petting and playing with him. Now if she just walks by or if he believes that my husband and I are not paying attention he will hiss and arch his back. Then once he knows he is in trouble he will go wherever she is and just stare at her. Obviously I do not like the hissing, but my biggest fear of course is that he may bite or attack her. What advice might you have. I just don't understand and I love my cat, he is part of the family.

Answer
Your cat must see your granddaughter as a threat on many levels. One, she is on his level a lot, so he feels crowded with her around and he is jealous of her as well. Her being rough on him hasn't left his mind either so he is trying to show her he is bigger than her by hissing and arching his back.

This can become a very serious problem very fast Liane. Cat bites on 2 year olds are a serious problem so you really need to nip this in the bud.

I am not a behaviorist so I am not very good with advice on this but my suggestion is to try and show him a lot of love and pets when she is there but remove him from the area if he continues to hiss. If so, you might want to talk to a pet behaviorist about this and get some ideas and possibly some drug therapy temporarily.

Even if he has to be on them for a while it's much safer then her being hurt.  

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Jana Connell RVT, CVT

Expertise

PLEASE READ BEFORE SUBMITTING TO ME: I am NOT a vet and do NOT diagnose diseases. That is only for a licensed Veterinarian to do. I will give you suggestions and steer you toward calling your vet for help. You can call the vet's office and talk to the technician there or the vet at times. Don't be afraid to call them! If you have a serious issue with your pet please post it to one of the veterinarians in here- I will tell you the same thing in my answer. IF your pet is injured or in an emergency situation, CALL YOUR VET- Do not wait and post in here. Just call the vet's office and get them in to see the vet right away. Critical treatment time is lost if you seek answers here when you should have your precious pet at the vets!! Don't sit at home waiting for an answer when your pet is critically ill or injured!! I can answer most questions about small animal and wildlife care as well as small animal nutrition. I can also answer questions about all phases of dental care for small animals. I DO NOT answer questions about birds (unless it is wildlife or songbirds) or HAMSTERS/GERBILS/CHINS/GUINEA PIGS/REPTILES/FROGS/RABBITS/PET BIRDS OF ANY KIND so please submit these questions to the appropriate sections. I, as well as other experts in here, do NOT do homework questions- that is for YOU to do! Please respect these rules for all of us. Thanks!

Experience

I have over 35 years experience in the field of veterinary medicine. I specialized in small animals and did wildlife rehab for over 25 years, mostly raptors, squirrels and opossums. I am a Small Animal Nutritional Consultant with 6 certificates from Hills Pet Foods, CNM and Purina. I also specialized in Small Animal Dentistry which is a field I truly love.

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Audubon,World Wildlife Federation, American Society of Veterinary Dental Technicians.

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Licensed with California and Oregon, RVT and CVT. Certified Veterinary Dental Technician Have over 500 logged hours of Continuing Education Credits(that means I keep up to date!).

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Nominated for Expert of the Month for the last 5 years.

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